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List Of Teams Interested In Yu Darvish

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 1, 2011 at 8:02am CDT

Yu Darvish apparently intends to pitch in the Major Leagues next year and it would be surprising if he doesn't draw interest from ten-plus teams. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 1.54 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 175 innings this season. Those numbers are typical for Davish, who entered the season with a 1.81 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in four years with the Nippon Ham Fighters. 

Here's a list of which teams have been linked to Darvish in the last calendar year:

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is in Japan and saw Darvish pitch, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
  • The Nationals maintain interest.
  • The Yankees have scouted him heavily.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels watched Darvish in June.
  • The Orioles had interest last offseason.
  • The Red Sox have been linked to Darvish.
  • The Rays watched Darvish about a year ago.

At this point, we don't know whether the clubs above were simply being diligent or whether they intend to make serious bids for Darvish. This list can't be considered comprehensive because other teams have likely been covert about their interest. What we can say at this point is that Darvish would be a welcome commodity in a starting pitching market that's light on top-of-the-rotation pitchers.

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121 Comments

  1. Andy Forrester

    14 years ago

    I remember that the Diamondbacks were interested last season, but with all of the young arms guess they quit in the pursuit.  I wonder how Yu will do in the USA, will he be an Ichiro or a Kazuo?

    Reply
    • BoSoxSam

      14 years ago

      or an Igawa? 😛

      Reply
      • Jose Manuel

        14 years ago

        LOL You can’t compare them … Igawa never dominated that way in Japan and doesn’t has the stuff Yu has

        Reply
        • BoSoxSam

          14 years ago

          Haha catch up man, I wasn’t comparing them 😛

          Reply
          • Jose Manuel

            14 years ago

            haha yeah that’s why I put the LOL and I get your :p

            Reply
      • Michael Sommer

        14 years ago

        Or a Dice-K?

        Reply
        • BoSoxSam

          14 years ago

          Touche.

          Reply
    • Jose Manuel

      14 years ago

      Yeah man!! Dan Hudson, Ian Kennedy, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs, Jarrod Parker … that’s a hell of a future rotation … one of the tops in the game if the kids live up to their potential

      Reply
    • Morley C

      14 years ago

      …or a Nomo…

      Reply
  2. MadmanTX 2

    14 years ago

    The Rangers have to be a favorite to land Darvish with their connections, but it comes down I guess whether they keep Wilson or not.

    Do teams have to bid on Darvish for negotiating rights? If so, then we’ll probably see a team like the A’s overbid just to keep the Rangers from getting him since they get their money back anyway if they fail to sign him.

    Reply
    • jeffdg

      14 years ago

      No one is a favorite, unless you are convinced the Rangers will post a large bid than anyone else. 

      Reply
    • Commander_Nate

      14 years ago

      Have to bid. What “connections” do the Rangers have over anyone else? I know JD went out there personally a few months ago, but that’s not necessarily a “connection.”

      Reply
      • Rangersfan32 2

        14 years ago

        I’d expect Texas to work hard on CJ while everyone else fights over Darvish.

        Reply
        • Commander_Nate

          14 years ago

          This is what I’m thinking also. The fight would only last 4 days though, since that’s how long the silent auction lasts. That’s good because I don’t like to wait.

          Reply
      • RDoubleYa

        14 years ago

        I believe the connections MadmanTX is referring to are the two Japanese pitchers the Rangers already have on their staff.  Tateyama was a former teammate on the Fighters for six seasons and still keeps in touch with Darvish and Uehara was a teammate on Team Japan.

        You are right though.  None of this matters unless the Rangers win the bid in the auction process.  However, it would likely help in the negotiating process after the bid is won.

        Reply
        • Commander_Nate

          14 years ago

          Ah, okay. I knew about Tateyama, but I thought he was referring to front office connections.

          Reply
        • USMCJock

          14 years ago

          There’s only one problem: There are lots of rumors that Uehara is coming back to Baltimore.  And Darvish apparently likes Baltimore.

          Reply
          • NYC Tim

            14 years ago

            Darvish likes Baltimore? Umm, why?

            Reply
            • Wayne

              14 years ago

              fells point!!! thats why there new yawk….

              Reply
  3. *Jays_44*

    14 years ago

    Jays need this. Money aside… We can’t miss out and face him 10 times a year. Come on AA this has your name written all over it!

    Reply
    • jeffdg

      14 years ago

      I think he also puts tons of fans in the seats — and that has to be a serious consideration in Toronto right now.

      Reply
      • TimmyFranchise

        14 years ago

        I agree completely.  Even if Darvish doesn’t turn into a front of the rotation stud, there will be such a huge increase in ticket sales for his starts and a ridiculous number of his jerseys sold, it would be worth the risk in Toronto.

        Reply
        • Encarnacion's Parrot

          14 years ago

          With the track record Japanese pitchers have in the MLB, I’d rather see the Jays sign CJ Wilson.

          Reply
  4. bonestock94

    14 years ago

    High risk high reward. Not sure if teams should go for him or CJ Wilson.

    Reply
    • Art Agel

      14 years ago

      I’m hoping the Blue Jays get Darvish.

      Aside from the obvious flame out and drama he’ll cause in the Blue Jays clubhouse (reportedly, he has the same prima dona attitude as Matsuzaka), it’ll tie up 100 million in Blue Jays funds and make it that much easier for the Rays to get playoff spots.

      Why sow discord in the house of your enemy when the Blue Jays will do it to themselves?

      Reply
  5. iamsynecdoche

    14 years ago

    I wonder if the Red Sox will be a bit gun shy on Darvish after how much they’ve paid (and are paying) for Matsuzaka. Is there a posting fee?

    Reply
    • Isaac

      14 years ago

      Yeah

      Reply
    • Art Agel

      14 years ago

      I hope not.

      There are fans on the Red Sox boards who want to hire all the Japanese players to make Yu Darvish “comfortable”.

      Imagine that.

      Racist Red Sox fans want to get players based soley on race rather than performance.

      Again, the more stupidly the Jays, Yankees, Sox, and O’s spend their money, the more embarressing it’ll be to get beaten by the Tampa team with 1/10 of their overall cashflows.

      Zing!

      Reply
  6. BVHjays

    14 years ago

    Let’s go Blue Jays!

    Reply
  7. Deekay

    14 years ago

    yes, there’ll be a posting fee because Darvish is no international FA. 

    btw: why wouldn’t the Red Sox (or the Yankees) bid for Darvish? Japanese guys are pretty underrated just because some of them didn’t make it. Look at guys like Kuroda that are even better than they were in Japan (not saying that Darvish will even be better because that’s impossible). Will the Red Sox never sign an American pitcher again because Lackey sucks? Or a position player because of Crawford? 

    Just because you’re playing in Japan doesn’t mean that a player sucks or that he can’t make it here. When you look at the players that didn’t make it you’ll realize that they had some flaws in their games before they came to the US. There are always some risks of course but you have risks no matter who you sign or where that player played before (see Crawford, Dunn). That’s a part of baseball.

    Reply
    • Jeff 30

      14 years ago

      Dice-K cost $100M total.  Underrated? Maybe.  Overvalued? Probably.

      Reply
      • notsureifsrs

        14 years ago

        boston made money out of the matsuzaka deal, but by the end of next year he will have pitched ~250 innings over the last four years of his contract. it wasn’t so much the cost but the underwhelming performance that made the deal sour for them

        Reply
        • Art Agel

          14 years ago

          Boston made no money at all.

          Just ask the Sox sportswriters and they’ll tell you that the Sox didn’t get any economic benefit from the Dice-K contract.

          No new advertising, no sponsors, and no revenue even from the shared system of merchandise from Japan (even split 29 ways, there was actually a decline).

          The bottom line was that Dice-K did poorly and his advertising value both here and in Japan never panned out.

          You can’t promote a lemon when everybody knows it’s a lemon.

          Reply
    • Jon Stark

      14 years ago

      Ichiro is fantastic example of someone that made a successful transition, Matsui as well. 

      Reply
      • woadude

        14 years ago

        Yeah because he was hitting balls that were bigger, pitchers may not transition as smoothly, it all depends on how he can handle MLB baseballs.

        Reply
        • mr salavati

          14 years ago

          Japanese baseballs have been the same size for a couple of years now.

          Reply
      • Art Agel

        14 years ago

        Ichiro and Matsui are position players.  But for every Ichiro, there are 3 Kaz Matsuis or Fukudomes.

        Ichiro – incidentally was overrated.

        Matsui, however, is quite underrated, and is probably the best position player in Japan’s history.

        It’s important to have realistic expectations when finding players for the right price.

        Rays fans understand this which is part of the reason why the Rays win; the ownership doesn’t have to spend on fake and overpriced “superstars” to satisfy a fanbase full of fanboys.

        The Rays are interested in one thing: Winning.

        The BLue Jays and all their $ millions should take notes.

        Reply
    • Joshua Pimental

      14 years ago

      The Red Sox or Yankees could certainly bid on Darvish, that shouldn’t be anything surprising at all.

      However, you would have to imagine there would be increased scrutiny in whether Darvish can fit in with American-style baseball. Things like workloads, conditioning, training, and related subjects could be given more focus than they have in the past. Or maybe they always did have a ton of focus on those things, but for whatever reason teams just completely missed with Dice-K.

      Reply
      • Zack Wynne

        14 years ago

        The workload may be bigger but there is much more conditioning and training in Japan  which is why Alfonzo Soriano went to America

        Reply
  8. John L

    14 years ago

    I’ve seen this kid pitch on film, and in person 2 years ago while in Japan on a work stint for 2 months. He looks great, has solid stuff, but…..I can’t help but think he’s Hideki Irabu/Daisuke Matsuzaka all over again. You can flush his numbers from the Japanese league down the toilet, history has proven these don’t translate to MLB success. I wish him luck, he has a live arm, but I’ll be happy if my Detroit Tigers stay far away. 

    Reply
    • MattCMoore

      14 years ago

      I wouldnt mind if the Tigers put in a bid (even though they wont). It will be pretty cool at first for the fans of the team that does get to sign him. But ive watched video on him and…. He throws from the streach!!!! Wtf!!!! Every pitch from the FREAKIN STREACH!!! Not sure why he does that, but Im almost positive that no other pitcher in the majors does that. He also pauses in the middle (after his leg kick) and it seems like it would be very easy to steal off him…

      Reply
  9. NYPOTENCE

    14 years ago

    I think this guy is the real deal, I mean look at Dice-k, he did have a strong season when healthy. The only problem has been his ability to go out there every five days. Darvish could be something special.

    Reply
    • 0bsessions

      14 years ago

      Matsuzaka had a great ERA when healthy, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily had a great season. Despite his ERA, Matsuzaka only pitched 167 innings in ’08 (Not for significant health reasons, but because he averaged less than 6 innings per start) and he would’ve walked over 100 batters had he pitched a full 32 game slate.

      He kept runners from crossing the plate, but his peripherals were absolutely terrible and there are few indications that he would ever have put up 2008 ERA numbers again. Before his injury he was a potentially serviceable pitcher, but he was nothing compared to his Japan stats.

      The biggest issues with matsuzaka are allegedly attributed to four things: difference in workout regimen from Japan, the difference in ball size in Japan, the difference in overall hitter quality in Japan and an (Capital A on Alleged here) Alleged attitude/communication issue. Three out of four of those things are things that will apply to Darvish. Maybe he can overcome those differences where Matsuzaka couldn’t, but I’m in buyer beware mode on this one. I’d top out at $25 million on the posting fee and $30 million on a contract. If that doesn’t get the job done, someone else can take the risk.

      Reply
      • Coollet

        14 years ago

        Sounds like the perfect guy for the Jays, “Alleged attitude/communication issue” he’d fit right in with the other “delinquents” that other teams had given up on.

        Reply
      • Jon Stark

        14 years ago

        I’m not sure about some of those alleged attributions. Look at players like Ichiro and Matsui; no one would ever challenge the attitudes or workout regimens. The sample size has been too small to generalize in the way you are doing. 

        Reply
        • Madraider

          14 years ago

          He wasn’t generalizing about Japanese players, he was speaking about a specific player in a specific situation. Daisuke Matsuzaka on the Red Sox. His workout regimen or his side work was vastly different in Boston than Japan, his attitude at times seemed to border on indifferent and he continually refused to attack the strike zone, despite having success when he did.

          Reply
        • Joshua Pimental

          14 years ago

          Teams seem to take a much more focused view on how pitchers workout compared to position players. Trevor Bauer in this past draft is a prime example. I’ve read in a few places that several teams would not pick him since he would not give up his long-toss workout regimen.

          Reply
        • 0bsessions

          14 years ago

          In fairness, you’re comparing hitters to pitchers. The workload for a hitter’s going to be roughly the same for a hitter as it is out here. Sure, they’re hitting a smaller ball, but they’re still playing every day and still only playing the same number of innings every time out. The six man to five man rotation and the pitch count differences allegedly had a large toll on Matsuzaka and that’s something Darvish will be subject to. Basically, there’s a larger learning curve (No pun intended, I promise) in pitching in the MLB to Japan than there is for hitting.

          Reply
      • Commander_Nate

        14 years ago

        Couple of things:

        1) Darvish’s parents met during college in the US and he has family still living here. He traveled here, and to his father’s Iran, a few times as a kid. Due to this, he’d probably have an easier time adapting.

        2) NPB adopted a new ball this year that very closely mimicks the MLB ball in both size and performance. Pitchers that have used both attest to this. Offense all over Japan has gone down because the balls carry less now. Darvish is putting up his best season with this new ball, which is basically the same as the one he’d have to throw here.

        3) By all accounts, Darvish is a very hard worker and fully embraces his rock star/sports celebrity status. There might be a language barrier for a while, but I don’t think he’d have a problem with the attention and pressure.

        Reply
        • MattCMoore

          14 years ago

          Who knows… Mabe he speaks english well…

          Reply
  10. Lookouts400

    14 years ago

    Anyone know what Darvish is looking for?

    Reply
    • gunsnascar

      14 years ago

      A dump truck full of money?

      Reply
  11. Jeffrey

    14 years ago

    DiceK had 1 great season 18-3 2.90 in 08 other than that pretty average. 15-12 4.40 4-6 5.76 9-6 4.69 3-3 5.30 with the contract and posting fee BoSox are paying for a 3 or 4 starter. Japanese pitchers dont pitch as much as MLB. If a team can get YU for a posting fee of 10-20 million and sign him to a 3-5 year contract for less than 10 million then its worth the gamble

    Reply
  12. TheFreak2011

    14 years ago

    Darvish will be looking for a LOT of money, since the dollar is so weak compared to the Japanese yen.  Look for at least Dice-K numbers, probably greater since Darvish is younger than Dice-K was when he signed with the Red Sox.

    Some team will be suckered; PT Barnum must have had a ton of foresight to make his comment “there’s a sucker born every minute….”

    Reply
    • bla

      14 years ago

      “the dollar is so weak”- since the Canadian dollar is still strong the Blue Jays have an advantage then.

      Reply
      • TheFreak2011

        14 years ago

        Seriously, it could be a huge factor.

        Reply
  13. chico65

    14 years ago

    Given his success as a ham fighter, I think he should opt for a city with a large Muslim or Jewish population.

    Reply
    • Jose Manuel

      14 years ago

      best comment by far LOL

      Reply
      • Coollet

        14 years ago

        What the hell is a “Ham Fighter”?

        Reply
        • Dr. Frank N Furter

          14 years ago

          the team’s name is actually “Fighter”… the company that has the team’s name is “Nippon Ham”, that’s what it is

          Reply
    • NYBravosFan10

      14 years ago

      ba boom CRASH!!!

      Reply
  14. TimmyFranchise

    14 years ago

    It’s not about Roger Clemens. The exact point is that he is from Japan.  Toronto has a huge Asian population.  A few years back, the Houston Rockets were one of the top draws for the Raptors because of Yao Ming.

    You’re right though, winning is the sure way to regain interest in TO.

    Reply
    • jojo

      14 years ago

      Difference is Yao Ming is Chinese, and Toronto (as with most other NA cities) as a large Chinese population. Chinese =/ Japanese

      Reply
      • MattCMoore

        14 years ago

        Haha he failed…

        Reply
      • mr salavati

        14 years ago

        But Japanese tourists love to come over on sports tours, and spend alot of money. The city of Seattle probably can pay for ichiro’s salary based on Japanese sports tourism.

        Reply
    • Chunk Light

      14 years ago

      Large Asian Population eh?  Yeah I guess all those Asians root for each other.  It’s not like Japan invaded China in the past and treated them pretty bad.  I don’t think there is a big Japanese community.  I would guess much more Chinese, Koreans, Thais and others.  It’s one of those weird things populations that are well off don’t emigrate as much as ones who have a large peasentry.

      Reply
  15. TimmyFranchise

    14 years ago

    opps, that was supposed to be a reply to tuna411 above.

    Reply
  16. bla

    14 years ago

    The Rangers will likely be busy signing CJ Wilson and probably do not want to take that big of a gamble. The Orioles will probably not have the money to outbid the AL East power houses, and even if they do thats too big of a risk with the way their roster is created (crappy). The Rays, well no money at all for this kind of gamble. Boston will be in the biddings but they will back away if the price gets high because of Dice-K. Yu will come down to the Jays and the Yankees, the Yankees will have to re-sign Cano and CC, which will cost at least 10 million more than they are paying. I doubt that they will risk all that money on him, especially after their past failures but you never know its the Yankees. The Jays pay roll will be 57 million next season which means they will have almost 100 million to spend if they wanted, and since he is still young (25), international, and a top of the lineup starter, he would be an ideal pick up for Toronto. Either way Toronto will get him, or they will force the Yankees to overpay him.

    Reply
    • Coollet

      14 years ago

      And since Toronto is in a “rebuild” they can afford to take that chance.

      Reply
      • johnsmith4

        14 years ago

        Interesting scenario.  In my opinion, Toronto has enough pitching prospects that they will “bubble-up” to fill out the starting rotation next season.  Unlike this season with Drabek, if one prospect falters, there will be another one to step in his place.

        Reply
        • Coollet

          14 years ago

          If you wait for the bubble up to take effect, you’ll be waiting an additional year (in my opinion) where if you take a chance on Darvish, and he pans out, you’ll one less issue to worry about speeding up the time it takes to contend in this division.

          Reply
        • bla

          14 years ago

          Yes so the Jays have the ability to walk away if the price isnt right, we all know AA will do that.

          Reply
    • Rabbitov

      14 years ago

      Orioles have the money they just won’t spend it. 

      Reply
  17. Bobby A 2

    14 years ago

    Obsessed with Yu

    Reply
  18. johnsmith4

    14 years ago

    Fascinating how all five AL East teams are listed in the seven teams interested in Darvish.

    Reply
    • bla

      14 years ago

       Shows the greatness of the AL East. The Jays, Rays, and BoSox were among the leaders in money spend on the draft. The Jays led the international free agent signings, the Yankees, BoSox, and Orioles led the free agent signings last off season. I love this division 😀

      Reply
      • johnsmith4

        14 years ago

        Yep, this is a great division to follow.  I always buy tickets for games when those teams are in Toronto.  It bewilders me how some Blue Jays fans want to be in another division in place of simply saying “let’s fix the process and give it time to make the team competitive”.  Here is something funny: some of Toronto media suggest playing fewer games against Yanks & BoSoxs (biggest draws) will increase attendance.

        Reply
        • notsureifsrs

          14 years ago

          the division complaints make sense: top 4 teams from each league should make the playoffs, even if 3 (or even 4) are in the same division

          Reply
          • johnsmith4

            14 years ago

            Converging three divisions into two to generate two wild-cards & two division winniner spots makes sense to me and is in line with your argument.  However, moving Jays away from Yanks and BoSox sounds like a “let’s find a back door to get a championship” argument to me.

            Reply
            • notsureifsrs

              14 years ago

              oh right, i agree that decreasing the number of times they play is lame. but if they earn a top-4 record in the AL while playing the titans as often as they do, it’s pretty insane to deny them a playoff spot

              Reply
              • Coollet

                14 years ago

                Got to beat the best to be the best (say that 5 times :P)

                Reply
                • bla

                  14 years ago

                  Agreed, its not about making the playoffs, its about winning the championship.

                  Reply
          • Rabbitov

            14 years ago

            On a related thought:

            Baseball is the biggest catch-22 sport I can think of. Because of the amount of games they play, 162 (for those taking score at home), they should have some more playoff spots. 
            But because they play 162 games extending the season even further makes just about no sense.  

            Just a random 2 cents to put in your hat. 

            Reply
    • Coollet

      14 years ago

      Toughest division in baseball. Thanks to some of the smartest GMs (in my opinion).

      Reply
      • johnsmith4

        14 years ago

        Yep…it is fascinating to watch them do their work…at times, some of things they do can be very nuanced.  Not easy for the casual fan to follow

        Reply
      • Zach Hewitt

        14 years ago

        Smartest GM’s if i had 200 million to play with I could put a winner out there. Not to much smarts is needed for Theo or Brian! Now the Jays  and Rays have it going on right now. Smart GM work there. Balitmore sucks year in and out. Two out fine ain’t bad if you’re hitting in the Majors but to call the whole division GM’s smart is a little of a reach.

        Reply
  19. Jeff Evans

    14 years ago

    The team name is just Fighters.  Nippon Ham refers to the club’s corporate parent, Nippon Meat Packers.

    It’s sort of like calling a certain football team the Bay Packers.

    Reply
    • Coollet

      14 years ago

      Would not have posted earlier comment if i would have read this post, thanks!

      Reply
    • chico65

      14 years ago

      Bay Packers is pretty funny too.  Sounds like it could be the blog of a disgruntled Mets fan.

      Reply
  20. Leonard Washington

    14 years ago

    Sox were bitten last time they started “Turning Japanese” haha. I would def prefer CJ Wilson. Even if Darvish is excellent I can’t see him being that much better than CJ so we would be better suited playing it safe. So if the Rangers go all Yu crazy hopefully that opens the door for the Sox to steal CJ from the Rangers and Yanks.

    Reply
    • Jon Stark

      14 years ago

      Not sure why going for CJ Wilson is safer than Darvish. Sure, CJ has had success here, but Darvish at least has demonstrated more years of excellence and consistency. 

      Reply
      • Leonard Washington

        14 years ago

        You said why. CJ has had more success here. I’m not knocking the guy so don’t get me wrong he appears to be an excellent talent, but so didn’t Dice-K. The posting fee is not going to be small anyone who thinks so is so incredibly wrong, its going to be 30 to 40M easy. Then he is going to want 13-15M a season on more than a one year deal obviously. Its going to be around 100M total maybe a little bit lower. Meanwhile Wilson has shown dominance in the MLB against the best hitters in the world, so I take his short resume and durability more seriously then Yu’s long career in what is the equivalent of AAAA in Japan. I mean come on, Matsui and Ichiro have been the only players to come over here that could hit a lick so I have a hard time believing Yu has been shutting down lineups even 20% as good as say the Yanks, Sox, or Rangers. Simply put he is unproven and if Wilson is on the table for cheaper he is the safer move. He might not have the highest ceiling but Yu could be a huge bust. And not the sexy kind.

        Reply
        • notsureifsrs

          14 years ago

          why do you want to sign another free agent starter? that’s crazy talk imo

          lester
          beckett
          buchholz
          lackey
          weiland/doubront/wilson/ranaudo

          life right field, the fifth spot is a place boston can afford to save money in 2012

          Reply
  21. MLB_in_the_Know

    14 years ago

    I am going to throw a team into the hat that, well, won’t make a lot of sense to start out, but hear me out.

    The Atlanta Braves. 

    They have the best young pitching in MLB and honestly, like Chipper said “it’s embarrassing how much pitching they have.” However, the organization is built on the fact that ‘pitching wins’.

    Now, let’s explore why the Braves would consider bringing in Yu Darvish.

    To do this, let’s go back to 1992. 

    The Braves have made the playoffs the past 2 years, but have failed to win the World Series. They are a young, up incoming team that is already loaded with pitching, with the likes of Glavine, Smoltz and Avery. 

    However, what did they do after the 1992 season…went out and got Greg Maddux, the reigning CY Young winner and the best pitcher in baseball.

    This game them their #1 Ace, on a staff that included 2 other future Hall of Fame pitchers, but his acquisition took pressure off of the rest of the staff started a dynasty. 

    Zip forward to 2011. 

    The Braves have a great group of young pitchers, many of whom have Ace potential, however none of them have taken that next step. 

    If you were to add Darvish to the top of the rotation, it would take pressure of a guy like Tommy Hanson, who has been deemed the “Ace of the future” since he was first called upon. Hanson has pitched very well, but he has been getting injured. He is also not a guy who goes deep into games, thus putting more dependence and pressure on the bullpen. (Darvish averages 8 IP per start (which will probably go down somewhat in the MLB, but still a player who can pitch deep into the game)).

    Acquiring Darvish would also allow the Braves to trade Jair Jurrjens and Mike Minor, possibly for a SS, LF or positional prospects.

    Rotation: Darvish, Hanson, Hudson, Beachy, Teheran. With Delgado and Vizciano in AAA. 
    *Note – Lowe also traded, but that’s independent of Darvish.

    The Braves have tried to tap into the Japanese market with Kawakami, however, that failed pretty badly. However, look at the current Japanese players in MLB…there are no star players anymore. Ichiro and Matsui have both aged and lost productivity, Dice-K and some others have never preformed up to expectations. This could provide a cautionary tale, however I see it as an opportunity to monopolize the Japanese market. The Japanese people follow their MLB Superstars almost religiously. Darvish very well may come in and be the best Japanese player in MLB from day 1. That is a huge market waiting for a team to control. 

    Anyways, I am done with my rant.

    Reply
    • Bernaldo

      14 years ago

      After hearing you out, you were right to conclude that it “won’t make a lot of sense”.  Darvish is going to cost a team a lot of money; one that needs/wants to gamble on acquiring a relatively young pitcher with good potential.  Given that Atlanta is sitting on a half-dozen young pitchers with excellent potential that a lot of other MLB teams have tried (and failed) to pry loose, it just doesn’t make any sense for them to spend big money on another pitcher with potential.  I think it is pretty certain that Atlanta is the one team that won’t spend that kind of money, preferring instead to contining to find and develop their pitching talent without throwing $30-50 million at one guy.

      Reply
    • NYBravosFan10

      14 years ago

      As much sense as it makes for the Braves you need to understand one thing…Liberty Media would NEVER dish out the money for the posting fee. They don’t care about the team and I would bet the CEO had to be reminded who Bobby Cox was when he wrote him a congratulatory letter last year. I am a proud member of the Braves fan population that wants Ted Turner back

      Reply
      • MLB_in_the_Know

        14 years ago

        I understand what you mean. I think that it is highly unlikely from a ownership standpoint. 

        However, I think that the Liberty Media hate is unwarranted.

        http://blogs.ajc *dot* com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/12/21/braves-wren-on-payroll-ownership-dobs-top-50-cds-of-2010/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog

        They pretty much let Frank Wren do whatever he wants.

        Reply
  22. Commander_Nate

    14 years ago

    You can add the Angels, Mets Pirates, Diamondbacks, Giants, Indians and a few more to that list. They have all scouted him within the past few months. Also, both LA teams and I believe the Mets were heavily interested in him when he was coming out of high school in 2004.
     
    Source: http://yakyubaka “dot” com/2011/07/21/scouts-from-at-least-three-clubs-checked-out-yu-darvish-pitch/ (Replace the “dot” with an actual .)

    Reply
    • IdontknowwhyIpostonforums

      14 years ago

      I really don’t think the Dodgers are going to be in any financial shape to make a serious bid on Yu.  It would be awesome if they could, but unless they are bidding against only the Rays, Pirates and Marlins the Dodgers will not likely land him.  Sad, because he would probably do quite well in the NL West.

      Reply
  23. Pete 12

    14 years ago

    Some truths:

    -Darvish is the best 25 y.o. FA pitcher in this years FA class.

    -Iwakuma is also coming, the A’s won the rights to him last year but he wanted a 7/125 deal, he has since changed agents and will probably be looking for a more reasonable deal this time though. If Oakland won the rights to him the first time, they will most likely be in the mix for him again and/or Darvish too. If a new stadium in San Jose ever gets announced, they will spend $100MM on a FA. Darvish fits that bill.

    Reply
  24. stormie

    14 years ago

    “Those numbers are typical for Davish, who entered the season with a 1.81
    ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in four years with the Nippon Ham Fighters.”

    This is actually his 7th season with the Fighters, B-R is simply missing the stats from his first 2 seasons for whatever reason (which were not as good as his last 4 years, but he was only 18/19).

    Reply
  25. Bennie

    14 years ago

    I wouldn’t waste the time and effort or the money on signing him.  It will cost way more than it is worth.  Just look at how much the Red Sox spent on Matsuzaka.  What a waste.

    Reply
  26. NYBravosFan10

    14 years ago

    Will someone out there please explain to me how a Japanese person gets the last name “Darvish”? Suzuki, Irabu, Matsui, Matsuzaka, Kawakami, Iwakuma and…Darvish. I’m not trying to sound closed-minded or ignorant It’s just an honest question.

    Reply
    • chico65

      14 years ago

      Iranian father

      Reply
      • NYBravosFan10

        14 years ago

        oh ok, that makes sense then. Thanks.

        Reply
      • Coollet

        14 years ago

        Did not see that coming, cool

        Reply
  27. hamburglar

    14 years ago

    If any manager can swing a “manageable” bill on Darvish, it’d be Alex Anthopolous.  This guy has been aggressive, smart, and is capable of handling some of the most difficult, burdensome contracts (*cough* Vernon Wells *cough*).  Fingers crossed for the Jays.

    Reply
    • Chunk Light

      14 years ago

      I think that AA has got his reputation because he has so far made sound decisons.  Both the Yankees and Red Sox have shown the ability to spend money that doesn’t make sense for ego or whatever reason.  The Yankees in my opinion NEED pitching help and the Red Sox have also been looking for a big chunk of the year.  Add in the fact that the Nationals seem to once again want to spend money like a drunken sailor (even though they aren’t a big market in any capacity compared to the others).  This leads me to believe that Toronto will have a good bid on this FA but will not get the player.  The worst case would be if the Nationals win the bid since getting one of the other divisional rivals to spend a ton of money on one more player could only help.  Neither the Yanks or RS have the pitching prospects that Toronto has.

      Reply
  28. JestersDead86

    14 years ago

    I think you forgot the Braves. 🙂

    Reply
  29. mauerfan

    14 years ago

    Maybe with Nishioka Darvish will wanna come! :D:D:D. Haha. yea rightt.

    Reply
  30. matt08

    14 years ago

    Will he embrace American culture or is he still the same guy at 23 whom said he would never come to america pitch, we forget the person, the psyche of the man.  Kuo with the Dodgers, a dominant lefty but deals everyday with the american press which is brutal but also the entire hoard of asian press which follows everywhere,  Kuo went on the shelf with anxiety.  pressures of the money that go along with him coming to america.  Women who will sek him ou tat the hotel lobby for no other reason than the story.  Alot of this that go along with being a prefessional athlete are daunting tasks which we as a public say they should handle.  How can you ever prepare for what 30 other people in the world face because in Japan he will become the most recognizable person in the entire culture.  Something to think about and to support the young man in something that not one person here reading this will ever truely understand the pressures of.

    Reply

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